In 1947, after a referendum, almost all of Sylhet as a district became a part of East Bengal at the time and remained so after Bangladeshi independence. The Karimganj subdivision became part of the new Indian state of Assam.[1] The referendum was held on 3 July 1947. There were a total of 546,815 votes cast on 239 polling stations. A majority of 43.8 per cent voted in favour of East Bengal. There were protests about false votes, but the referendum was acknowledged during India's independence on 18 July 1947.[2] In 1971, Sylhet became part of the newly formed country of Bangladesh.[3]